Swivel harp for lamp shades



May 13, 1947. 1:2. ENGEL.

SWIVEL HARP FOR LAMP SHADES Filed Sept. 15, 1945 INVENTQR. DAV/D ENGIEL H ATTaE/v/EY Patented May 13, 1947 2,420,471 SWIVEL HARP FOB, LAMP SHADES 7 David Engel, Bloomfield,

fourth to Domenico Cairni Agostino Caimi, both N. 5., assignor of oneand one-fourth to Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 15, 1945, Serial No. 616,514

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved swivel harp for lamp shades.

A broad object of this invention is the provision of an improved swivel harp for lamp shade mounting which may be easily assembled and dismounted as desired, without the use of tools or the manipulation of any complicated and troublesome mechanism. Since the conventional swivel harp adds a considerable amount of length to the overall dimension of the lamp, it is highly desirable for purposes of storage, moving and packing for shipment to save space as well as prevent damage in shipment, to provide a harp which may be dismounted with ease whenever desired.

A more detailed object of this invention is the provision of an improved device of the character described in which a mounting plate carries a pair of vertically extending sockets having a degree of wall resilience and detents formed therein for cooperation with the leg member ends which carry oppositely inclined cam surfaces to aid in mounting and dismounting the leg members from the sockets.

Some of the swivel harps of the prior art with which I am familiar, have been provided with demountable means for securing the legs of the harp, but they have been unsatisfactory due to the difliculty of assembly and dismounting, or have required the use of tools, or have been costly to manufacture. I propose to eliminate these difficulties in my improved structure.

A more complete understanding of my invention may be had by referring to the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is an elevational view of my improved swivel harp, with parts broken away for a better understanding of my structure.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the mounting plate and sockets with the ends of the le members in position for insertion to mount the leg members upon the mounting plate.

Referring now to Figure 1, the mounting plate generally denoted by the letter P is formed from a fiat piece of metal so as to provide a flat pedestal-like plate portion 3 having an annular conduit receiving opening 4 through which the wiring for the lamp socket is passed. Extending upwardly from opposite edges of the pedestal-like plate 3, at substantially 45 degree angles, are spacing and retaining arms 5 and ii. Formed at the upper ends of the arms -5 and 6 are cylindrical sockets l and 8 which are formed from the flat metal into the cylindrical shape described. Due to the fact that the walls of sockets I and 8 are split vertically from the meeting edges of the flat material from which they are formed, the

walls have a degree of resilience, the importance of which will be described hereinafter.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sockets I and 8 are provided with detents 9 and H! which may be formed adjacent the lower ends of the sockets by of what is commonly known as a center punch. These detents protrude into the cylindrical bore of the sockets to act as a positive holding means for the lower ends of the leg members of the harp.

The leg members H and i2 are bent outwardly in the conventional manner to provide adequate space for electric light bulbs of desired size, and a plate it carries a threaded stub Hi for the reception of an appropriate nut which will clamp the lamp shade supporting bar or spider'into place against plate 13.

The lower ends it and it of the legs H and 12 are provided with grooves I1 and I8. It will be noted that the outer or lower wall of grooves I1 and it are provided with cam surfaces l9 and 2%! respectively, and that the extremities 2| and 22 of the legs are formed into a bullet-like structure having inclined cam surfaces 23 and 24.

As shown in Figure 2, when it is desired to mount the lower ends 55 and E6 of legs I! and I2 in the sockets l and 8, it is merely necessary to align the bullet-shape ends 2! and 22 with the bores of the sockets and to press the legs downwardly until the cam surfaces 23 and 24 impinge upon the bosses formed on the inner walls of the bore by detents 9 and ill. Further downward pressure of the legs will cause the cam surfaces to spread the sockets sufiiciently to permit sufficient insertion for the bosses to settle in the grooves l1 and I8.

When it is desired to remove the legs from the sockets, it is necessary merely to hold the plate 3, and the lamp upon which it is mounted, and pull the legs II and I2 outwardly from the sockets; When this pulling pressure is exerted, the cam surfaces i9 and 2!! of the grooves l1 and i8 impinge upon the interior bosses formed by detents B and ill and cause a spreading of the socket walls to permit clearance of the bosses and subsequent removal of the legs from the sockets.

From the foregoing it can be seen that assembly and dismounting are simple operations which may be performed very quickly; that the structure is simple and economical to manufacture, and that the legs of the harp will be held sufiiciently securely for its intended purposes when the parts are assembled for use.

While I have shown and described my preferred form of construction, I do not wish to be limited to the precise details shown and described, but wish to avail myself of all variations properly coming within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A swivel harp comprising a mounting plate, spaced resilient sockets carried by said mounting plate for receiving the leg members of the harp, leg members having their ends demountably received in said resilient sockets, detent means formed in the wall of each resilient socket, a recess formed in each leg member for cooperation with the detent carried by said leg members, and means carried by the ends of said leg members for cooperating with said detents to spread said resilient sockets during mounting and dismounting operations.

2. In a lamp shade holder for use with light bulbs, the combination, which comprises a horizontally positioned mounting plate having a centrally disposed opening therein with diagonally and upwardly extending sections and Vertically disposed split resilient cylindrical sockets positioned at the ends of the diagonally extending sections, said sockets having detent means in the walls thereof spaced from the lower ends, and an inverted U-shaped member with outwardly bowed arcuate legs and having parallel sections with circumferential recesses in the surfaces thereof at the lower ends of the legs, the lower ends of said legs being shaped to spread said resilient sockets upon insertion of the parallel sections at the ends of the legs in the sockets.

3. In a lamp shade holder for use with light bulbs, the combination, which comprises a horizontally positioned mounting plate having a centrally disposed opening therein with diagonally and upwardly extending sections and vertically disposed split resilient cylindrical sockets positioned at the ends of the diagonally extending sections, said sockets having detent means in the walls thereof spaced from the lower ends, and an inverted U-shaped member with outwardly bowed arcuate legs and having parallel sections with circumferential recesses in the surfaces thereof and rounded knobs for spreading said resilient sockets upon insertion of the ends of the parallel ends of the legs in the sockets, said inverted U-shaped member having a centrally disposed threaded stud extending vertically upward from the upper end.

DAVID ENGEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,692,772 Foley Nov. 20, 1928 1,946,959 Auerbach Feb. 13, 1934 

